Vacaville police volunteers honored

After marking National Volunteer Appreciation Week with a Tuesday afternoon luncheon at the Opera House, Vacaville police recognized several individuals for their outstanding service to the city and are preparing to launch a new recruitment wave in the coming weeks in hopes of adding to their numbers.

Dorothy Aschenbrenner walked away with Volunteer of the Year honors following the noon luncheon, which is held annually, said Susanne Johnson, police special services supervisor.

"She's very helpful," Johnson said, adding, "She has a very deep understanding."

Aschenbrenner oversees patrol assistance, which includes making sure the booking room is free, putting up wanted posters, booking evidence, making sure officers have all the supplies they need when writing reports and taking care of general office needs, Johnson explained.

Aschenbrenner was also named Volunteer of the Quarter, joining Larry Hall, Diane Stadler and Raylene Duey.

A special award was presented to Shirley Tytler, who tallied an unprecedented 15,000-plus hours of service, Johnson said. Tytler joined Volunteers In Police Service (VIPS) in March 2007, and was commended for her service and given a police volunteer jacket.

Together with her partner, who tallied another 12,000 volunteer hours of his own, Tytler oversees the DA paper run, taking more than a thousand case folders to the Solano County District Attorney's Office each month.

The duo also works to assemble the folders, adding tabs and organizing them, as well as recycling old folders.

"It's a 24/7 job," she added. "Once the volunteers are trained, they can work any time of day."

The program has a number of success stories, including one former volunteer who was recently hired as a Community Service Officer by the Fairfield Police Department, and another who went on to be employed by the Placer County Sheriff's Department.

"We have a lot of really dedicated volunteers," Johnson said, referring to those who spend "hours and hours" working on data entry -- one of the major needs.

There are currently 65 VIPS, but Johnson says she hopes to bring another 20 or so into the program through their recruitment efforts, which will begin May 21 with an hour-long public information meeting. During the meeting, which is slated to begin at 10 a.m., Johnson said she will outline what it takes to be a volunteer, the commitment required and training.

Johnson said a Volunteer Training Academy is in the works and will be beginning the first week of September. Classes will be held twice each week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, she said.

Those interested in volunteering can submit an application at any time by visiting the city of Vacaville website and finding "Police Department" on the drop down tab and clicking on the "Get Involved" link.